Warring Lines
by mysticflakes
Summary: While making their way to Pendle Hill, she gets lost, stumbles upon an ancient estate and wanders in where she meets Oliver, who rudely demands for her to leave. Though angry, she does as he says but realizes, horrified, that the entrance is already sealed. AU.
1. No Way I'm Psychic

Chapter 1: No Way I'm Psychic

**A/N: A new story idea from my ever-so-entertaining muse. This story starts around the same time as Ghost Hunt, and Naru will be slightly OOC. I have a Naru in mind that is a little different from what mangas/animes portray him.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter; sorry for the slow introduction (hardly an appealing way to start the first chapter) and:**

**Onwards!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.**

* * *

Ignoring the amused glances her classmates were giving her, Mai scrambled into the classroom, flinging her bag carelessly on her table and slumping into her seat in one strangled gasp.

_Ding Dong! _

The bell tolled the beginning of the homeroom period. She attempted to take in more of the much-needed oxygen for her parched throat because of her frantic dash while running her fingers through her hair that was probably sticking out in all directions with her rush to get here on time. "Thank God," she breathed, relieved that she made it on time - though barely.

"Tsk, tsk," she heard a familiar clucking of the tongue, "Mai, can't you just wake up earlier?"

She turned back to face her friend, sheepish smile on her face. Honestly, she had tried. She set the alarm clock earlier by half an hour but it worsened things because she slept through the terrible ringing (partly also because of the late night she had reading _Carrie) _and ended up waking at a later time than she usually did. "I _really_ tried, Michiru!"

"Stop having hopes," Ann quipped in airily from beside and Mai scowled, albeit playfully, "she would never be early."

Michiru and Ann both smacked their palms together in mutual agreement and the latter grinned in Mai's direction, who merely huffed in response. She just didn't have the luxury of having someone to wake her up for school. Really, if she had sufficient sleep, she wouldn't be rushing for school this morning. "I was up late last night, okay?"

"You say that every time," Michiru said, "I really commend on you not being late for class even with your tendencies, though."

Mai puffed her cheeks in annoyance, about to retort when the classroom door slid open.

"Class, stand!"

Oh well, she could save that for later.

\\\\\+\\\\\

"I'm heading for the cafeteria," Michiru announced, pushing herself from the table, the chair dragging with little protest along the white tiles. "Anyone want anything?"

Ann waved her own bento in the air and Mai wondered briefly whether there was caramel pudding today. Then her arm shot up in a split second when she felt her gut telling her that there _would_ be. Caramel pudding was made especially delicious in here - really popular as well - but it didn't have a fixed day it was available on. "Me! I want caramel pudding, please!"

Michiru chuckled at her response, though her eyes gleamed knowingly, then turned to Ann, "As usual?"

"You're on!"

Mai wrinkled her nose as she watched the Michiru's disappearing back, "Why are you guys still betting on this?"

Ever since the menu had been out and it was said that students could only depend on their luck to get the famous dessert since it was only available on random days, Mai relied largely on her instinct for her favorite dessert. When she got the day right for the third time, Ann and Michiru had exchanged a glance and started betting whether her guess would be accurate. She rubbed the side of her forehead in mild exasperation: she had tried deterring them from making that bet as if she was a psychic but it never worked and with time, she resigned from trying to convince them otherwise.

"I just want to catch you being wrong," Ann said as she broke the two chopsticks apart and placed it on the lunchbox cover. "It's just not normal, all right."

"It's luck," Mai said, shaking her head.

Ann looked at her with a knowing smirk, "Keep telling yourself that. You've gotten all the days right on since the start of this year."

"There's caramel pudding _today_?" Another classmate, Chiki, asked with wide eyes. She probably overheard their conversation when she was passing their table.

Mai nodded slowly, uncertainly. "A wild guess, it might not - " but before she could finish her sentence, Chiki was already out of the classroom. Mai blinked once, twice, then sighed. She really didn't know why people trusted her on this - it was just guessing, and it might be incorrect.

"See, Mai." Her voice held a tone of finality in it and Mai blew out another tired breath, relenting and not bothering to argue any further. "You should try a psychic test, you know."

Mai looked at her incredulously, ready to dismiss the thought with a sarcastic remark but stopped when Ann's eyes gleamed with an anticipation. She wouldn't be surprised if Ann had the webpage ready in her phone and was just waiting for her to take the bait.

So instead, her eyes strayed back to the book under her table, fingers itching to flip to the page where she last left off - not that she'd try, though: Ann would always steal the book away from her, claiming that her 'poor eyes need some rest from the tiny words'. She learned not to try after a few more attempts; Ann was determined, all right.

"Anyway, I'll wait patiently for the day you're wrong," Ann said cheerily as she pulled out three juice packets from her bag and set them on the table. "And - "

"Ann!" A breathless gasp was heard before the caramel pudding was slammed on the table triumphantly, making both Ann and Mai jolt in surprise from the abrupt arrival. "Money, please." Michiru's hand was already out-stretched and her fingers wriggling rather comically.

"_Michiru_!" Mai exclaimed, sounding scandalized, though she was trying to suppress her own giggles. "You're hopeless!" Michiru grinned cheekily as she slid into the seat opposite Mai, unwrapping her sandwich with one hand as the other remained laid open on the table.

Ann grumbled, smacked the offending hand - in which Michiru barely flinched - before she pressed some change onto her waiting palm. "You made me lose money again, Mai!"

Mai wagged a finger at her mockingly, "Uh-uh. You participated willingly in this." She might have expressed her disapproval of them using money (no matter how small the sum) like this but it was still funny and entertaining to see a disgruntled Ann.

For a moment, the girls sank into a rare silence as they dug into their lunch. Mai's mind was drifting off to _Carrie, _and was wondering absently what the girl would do - she wouldn't like it if people poured blood over her; that was for sure. She felt the next spoonful of pudding melt on her tongue deliciously, and decided to stop thinking about the novel and settled on savoring this creamy delicacy thoroughly. As she was cutting the next small serving of it with her plastic spoon and wondering what she should have for dinner later on,

Ann's excited squeal interrupted her thoughts, "Oh, right!"

Michiru and Mai looked up, both arching a brow at Ann's sudden exclamation. Ann leaned forward in her seat, "Have you heard of the trip?"

"Trip?" Mai echoed, clueless. "What trip?"

"The trip to England! They're going to be visiting Anne Hathaway's cottage, some weird old theatre," she was cut off by Mai's exclamation of "Globe Theatre" but waved her off dismissively and continued, "and more importantly, I heard there's a _huge _highlight of this trip."

Ann eyed the two girls with an excited gleam in her eyes, pausing for a fraction of a second - and Mai knew it was a little ploy of hers to make them more attentive, but she fell for it anyway, leaning forward to catch her hushed whisper over the loud chattering of the classroom: "Pendle Hill."

"Pendle witches," Mai gasped, "are you serious?"

Michiru pushed her glasses up, a little dent forming between her brows, "Why would the school permit this itinerary?"

Ann shrugged, "It wasn't stated explicitly that we would get to go there, but look, they plan to give us a day off in Lancashire for us to explore the art and heritage there - and Pendle Hill is there, along with historical houses..." She gestured excitedly with her hands, "We all love ghost stories, horror movies and whatnot. So why shouldn't we sign ourselves up for this?"

"The teachers wouldn't like it," Mai said, chewing on her bottom lip though she _did _want to go, no matter how many ghost stories she had heard of the place, seeing it in real-life is an entirely different story. Plus, it wasn't as if spirits would attack them randomly; many tourists had visited these sites and other than claims of it being spooky and chilling, there were little to none reliable sources that claimed of experiences that indicated it being an attraction for the supernatural. She paused for a moment, then said, "But I _do _want to go..."

"Ah-_ha_! Then it's settled!"

Michiru shook her head, "No, Ann. I don't think so."

Ann frowned, "Michiru! Why are you being such a wimp?" Mai shot her a warning glance. It wasn't wrong to be cautious and she knew that though Michiru enjoyed all the past meetings of sharing ghost stories, she was someone who tread on these things carefully. In a way, Michiru helped kept both her and Ann in line because they were quite impulsive.

"I'm _not_," Michiru snapped, voice tight, "I'm just saying we should be careful."

Sensing a quarrel stirring up, Mai immediately intervened. "Now, now. Why don't you guys ask for permission from your parents first? We can always discuss this during the trip if we _do_ go, and even if we decided not to go eventually, England is a fun place to tour about." She could still seeing the girls glaring at each other and wrinkled her nose, "Guys, come on!" She tried again.

Michiru huffed, almost childishly, as she broke the eye contact and conceded, "Sure."

"I'll get the 'okay' easily," Ann said, voice still holding a hint of irritation.

Mai rubbed the side of her forehead, but knew this was the best they could do.

\\\\\+\\\\\

In all honesty, Mai didn't even need to worry whether her parents would agree to it. She was an orphan and there were no living relatives. Initially a kind teacher had offered her a place to stay, but she had moved out once she had the ability to earn her own. She didn't want to trouble her unnecessarily and though the teacher was reluctant to do so, she allowed her to go with the promise that she'd head back if she needed anything.

She pulled the lid of the cup open to inspect her noodles, then sealed it again, stomach growling impatiently. "I should've ordered a takeaway," she grumbled to herself as she waited for her laptop to boot. After hearing of Lancashire, she decided that she needed to watch _Most Haunted _again. They had done an episode on Pendle Hill and the show's presenter, Yvette Fielding had claimed that it was "the scariest episode they made".

Though she didn't like watching these clips alone, she was too tempted to do so today - after all, they _would_ be heading there themselves later on. She somehow knew Michiru would be persuaded into this in the end. Now impatient, she took a slurp of the noodles, then eagerly typed into the search engine of YouTube when the webpage loaded,

"Ah, it's still there!"

She gathered her blankets in her arms and bundled herself on the couch, readying herself for the horror.

\\\\\+\\\\\

A loud cackle burst through her head. She winced and her hands had instinctively reached up to cover her ears when she realized she couldn't. Her entire body was paralysed and it felt as if something was pressing her down with all its weight. She struggled to break out of the invisible bind, frustrated when she realized she couldn't. It was like trying to move with concrete wrapped tightly around you, if that made sense.

"Shit, it's another episode," she groaned inwardly to herself.

A baby's wail cut into her thoughts and she shut her eyes, attempting to block the noise out. _This is not real, Mai. Now hurry and get your shit together and break out of this_. With renewed determination, she ignored the cackles and cries that grew louder in volume in her head, pounding against her skull as she focused everything she had on her toe.

Her eyes were heavy and she was freaking exhausted, but she refused to give in. She wiggled it and barely managed to break herself out of the state, her body now up in a swift move, completely exhausted.

"Screw sleep paralysis," she muttered irritably, smacking both sides of her face with her hands to make herself more awake. She had learned that going back to sleep right after, though horribly tempting, would merely make her experience it again. She closed the YouTube window, unsure of when she had fallen asleep and padded to the kitchen to get a drink.

As she sipped the liquid, feeling the cool water wash over her dry throat, she wondered if she should go for the trip. Her gut clenched and she cocked her head to the side,

"I'm guessing I should go," she declared to no one in particular. She was a little more awake now and she considered going back to bed, but after considering the prospect that she could experience a few more episodes, she decided against it. Instead, she went to open a new webpage and typed:

_Psychic test online_

She felt ridiculous for taking her friend up on her suggestion but she clicked on the first link she saw, anyway. She hummed thoughtfully, "Zener cards? Sounds weird, but okay."

She had chosen the option of 100 cards. But after she reached 70 and none of the answers were correct, she leaned the side of her face on her fist, "Damn, I'm horribly _un_-psychic. Why can't I even get one right?" Well, challenge accepted: it's not possible that she wouldn't get even one hit, right?

She tried till the eighty-fifth and there were no signs she was going to get it right. So she snapped the laptop shut with a huff, "Well, I'm going to tell Ann and Michiru tomorrow that they've been exaggerating and there is no way I'm psychic."

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Mai, you clueless little thing. Well, while I'm getting excited over Naru's appearance, do leave a review to tell me your thoughts! **

**May Dream!Naru or Gene visit you in your dreams. **

**-mysticflakes**


	2. Pretty Boy

Chapter 2: Pretty Boy

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! I hope you enjoy this. There may be mistakes since I'm typing this at two in the morning - so yep. I'd look over it, uh, later today and correct them.**

**Thank you for giving this fic a chance, dear readers!**

**Now, onwards!**

* * *

"They finally let us go _alone_!" Ann exclaimed, obviously exasperated as she pulled the woolen scarf around her neck closer to her. She blew out puffs of white smoke into her muffled hands before shoving them into her pockets, then jerked her head to the south. "Come on, guys!"

Michiru shifted her weight from one foot to another. "Um, Ann, I don't feel good about this."

"Aw, Michiru! You were doing so well!" Ann slung an arm over Michiru's shoulders and another over Mai's. "We head to that cafe over there and strike up some courage first, then."

Mai stared at Michiru, unsure of how a cup of hot tea or whatever it would be would soothe Michiru's frayed nerves but followed Ann anyway. Michiru was unusually silent when Ann took on that condescending tone with her and Mai was getting a little worried. If she didn't feel like going, it wouldn't be good to force her to - this trip was supposed to be fun, after all.

The door jingled a happy bell and a friendly lady at the counter greeted them with a warm 'Welcome!'. Mai looked around the interior of the shop; it was rather small but the round wooden tables and chairs along with ceramic figures on the ledge of the windows made it a sweet and comfortable place to be in.

"Mai! Do you want anything?" Ann called as Mai looked out of the window to see if she could catch a glimpse of the path they would take later on.

Mai shook her head, then stopped herself. "I would like chamomile tea, please." She turned and made her way back to the counter, leaning on the white marble, a little regretful that she didn't bring the new book she didn't manage to finish before the trip - _The Girl Next Door _- and watching as Ann translated her orders fluently for her - she was feeling too lazy to switch from her native tongue to English... It really was a pain to be in a foreign country, but all these beautiful landscapes made it worthwhile.

The lady at the counter directed Mai a confused look, but merely nodded and busied herself with the orders. Ann shot Mai a look. "Did you do something again?"

"No! Don't accuse me of anything!" Mai huffed and folded her arms defensively, then nudged Michiru, "defend me too!"

Michiru smiled weakly, "Leave Mai alone."

Mai frowned; now, this definitely wasn't a normal Michiru. "Michiru? Are you okay?"

Even Ann seemed to be disturbed by Michiru's behavior. "Ne, Michiru, if you really don't want to go, I understand. We can always go shopping."

"No, I'm fine." Michiru slid into one of the nearest chairs near the counter. Her hands clasped on top of each other tightly - too tightly. Mai felt an uneasy clench of her gut muscles and took another deep breath to ease herself - she didn't need to be affected by Michiru. Both girls settled into the wooden chairs as well as they looked at the shaken girl expectantly.

Michiru looked up from her lap. "I had a nightmare yesterday, that's all."

"Was it because of Hamlet's performance yesterday? Man, the man who played Claudius - "

"- was amazing," Mai interrupted Ann before the latter could insult the man more. Seriously, it was the face powder! Plus, his acting was great and he fitted the role of the King well. She didn't get why Ann is basing her judgment on his appearance.

Ann rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Here are your teas," the counter lady said as she set the tea cups before the three girls, "is there anything else you need?"

They shook their heads. "Thank you!" Mai said brightly as the lady left, and then stirred the tea before taking a sip. "Ahh, this tastes great! Michiru, do you want some? It's great for soothing nerves."

"It has a weird name," Michiru said as she peered at Mai's cup, then shook her head. "I think I would stick to English."

Mai pouted. "All right then." There was silence for a few minutes.

"Hey, guys," Ann started tentatively, checking her watch, "we've about six hours left. We'd better make our decision quickly - there's the climb we've to make."

Mai chanced a look at Michiru's face and noted how she seemed less nervous than before. "We can always change our plans, Michiru." She was still afraid that Michiru would feel pressurized into saying yes.

Michiru smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. I was just being a little scared just now - new country and all. Sorry."

"Oh, so you're saying..?" Ann jumped up from her seat at that train of thought.

Michiru laughed. "Oh, please. Like you aren't keen on me agreeing in the first place."

"Yay!" Mai cheered, punching her fist in the air.

After bidding farewell to the lady, they trooped out of the store, their arms linked and in high spirits as they chattered away the photos they would take and how the atmosphere would be like.

* * *

"Oh!" Mai gave a surprised gasp as she stumbled out of the cab clumsily, arriving in the village of Barley. "Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"Stop your gasps, idiot," Ann said as she got out of the cab after paying the driver. "You're embarrassing us."

"Oh! Is that Pendle Inn?" Mai said excitedly, running towards the cafe with a witch and a cauldron printed on the wooden signpost. She looked up, momentarily fascinated, then passed it to get to the inn. The brown old building was wide and towered over her. 'The Pendle Inn' was printed neatly on the dark wooden plate on top of the rounded door entrance. And there were flowers planted on some of the window sills beside the entrance - it looked so pretty!

"Oh, Ann, Michiru! We can have some ale here!"

Michiru and Ann were panting by the time they reached Mai, their hands on their knees as they gulped in more air. "Seriously, Mai, save that energy for the climb," Michiru muttered, shaking her head. Mai ignored their grumblings and instead opted for dragging them both into the inn and cheerily greeted the man serving them.

"What would you like?" He asked kindly; there were crows' feet at the corner of his eyes and his hair were starting to grey, but he gave off a jolly feeling with his bulging belly and wide, toothy smile. Mai beamed back at him.

"Three ales, please!"

He arched a brow at her. "Are you sure you ladies are old enough for a drink?"

"Well, it'd be a waste not to," Mai said, swinging her legs gaily as she grinned at the man. He chuckled.

"Ladies, I'd love to fulfill your requests but perhaps a few years later."

Mai pouted. Michiru rolled her eyes. "I told you, Mai. Let's just order lunch first." She checked her watch. "We've about five hours left."

The man laughed again and passed them the menus, a twinkle in his eyes. "What would you like?"

"Sinatra Chicken," Ann said, then looked at Mai, who asked for the same.

"Lamb and Black for me," Michiru said. They closed their menus and handed it back to the jolly server who asked them to wait for about fifteen minutes before he left their table. The inn wasn't as crowded as they thought it would be; there were only a few families here and there but it was relatively quiet and Mai enjoyed the peace for a while.

"Ne, I heard Chitazu-sempai likes Michiru!"

Mai's eyes widened and leaned over the table, greedy for some gossip while Michiru's face exploded into a deep shade of red. "Shut up!"

An evil smirk tugged on Ann's face and expectantly, she continued her tale. Mai erupted into giggles. "Michiru, you _must _tell us when you've a boyfriend."

Michiru smacked Mai on her shoulder, scowling. "Enough of both your nonsense!"

The server was back with the food by then and he set the plates down before them. Mai licked her lips as she thanked the man and reached for the utensils, ready to attack the food. It smelled really good and her stomach was complaining -

"_Itadakimasu!"_

* * *

Mai got out of the toilet, feeling incredibly relieved. Pushing the door open, "Hey, Ann - "

Her voice died when she realized she had got out of the wrong exit. Smacking her forehead with her palm, "Ah, Mai!" She scolded herself. But she supposed she could always make a roundabout - and put herself in face of two friends who would laugh at her stupid mistake.

Grumbling under her breath, she took a turn around the edge, walking slowly and enjoying the silence. It was rare for her to feel this relaxed. Even from here, the hill could be seen. It looked quite intimidating; the height seemed too much for her to conquer but nonetheless, she was pumped up and man, she would reach the top!

_Mai, help._

She stopped. Did someone just call her? She turned to see the clearing and frowned. She thought she had heard something...

_Help! You! _

No. She heard that. Clearly.

She whipped her head around and walked back to behind the inn. "Hello?"

No, there wasn't anyone she could see from here. But she wasn't about to leave a person in need if she could help it. Determined, she trudged further and further away from the inn, eyes searching around for a possibly injured person. Where was she? She ducked under a low branch and called out again,

"Hello? Who called my name?"

Right. Who called her name? Why did the person know her name? Chills ran up her arms and she shivered a little, pulling her coat closer to her body. It must be the cold, she comforted herself. After a few more minutes of searching, she sighed. "Never mind, I should get back anyway."

She turned.

A tree towered before her; its trunk was thick and branched out in a wide canopy above her. She stared at it, momentarily hypnotized. "It looks beautiful."

Her hand reached out to touch it, but she faltered midway and she took a step back. Something inside her was cautioning her against it. She probably shouldn't touch it - but still it seemed too alluring as if it was calling for her to just brush the tips of her fingers over it and answer its pitiful cries of help.

Wait, what? It was a tree calling for her? She burst out laughing in the clearing. "Mai, you've gone bonkers. Stop listening to yourself."

To prove her point, she rebelliously smacked her palm hard on the trunk of the tree. Then she pulled away. Nothing happened - oh, ew, was that some fluid? Shit, that better not be poisonous. She waited for a minute to see if it was. Nope, her hand wasn't itchy and it wasn't bleeding. Some brown flakes were stuck on it though, and she blew them off carelessly, then swiped her hands on her jeans. She'd better be getting back.

Something cold gripped her.

Where was the inn? She remembered seeing it behind the tree, albeit some distance in the background, but the distance where if she dashed, she'd reach in around three minutes. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to calm down. "I can't be far."

She walked past the tree and started running, her legs pushing her to run faster and faster as her breaths came out in short pants. Her muscles felt as if they were burning as she forced herself to continue to run - no, she couldn't be lost. Michiru and Ann were probably still waiting for her in front of the inn. Her vision blurred as the landscape kept jerking up and down when she ran. She slowed to a jog and then stopped, almost buckling under her quivering knees, onto the green grass. She panted heavily, wiping the sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"No, no." She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Don't cry. She could feel the heat of her cheeks from the work-out and she resisted the urge to peel off her thick coat; it'd get cold again later, anyway. Looking around, there seemed to be no houses anywhere and the sky was darkening - "What the fuck? It was only one just now!"

She checked her watch again. It was only one-thirty. Oh no, that means...

Sure enough, a drop of rain splashed on her coat. Just her luck. She sped up her pace and ambled down, unsure of the direction and feeling absolutely helpless and clueless. She shouldn't have attempted to follow a disembodied voice in the first place. She was so stupid! Mai bit hard on her bottom lip, refusing to feel defeated - she would find her friends; she _had _to!

Mai could feel the drizzle now and she started running again, this time relying on her instincts completely. Just hoped that the gut that told her about the caramel pudding would bring her into the right direction. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the cool wind brushing past her hot cheeks as she prayed fervently that she would get back home.

She opened her eyes again. There was a building in a distance! Her heart rate picked up as she dashed, uncaring of how rubbery her legs felt - she was desperate to get back. "Here's to hoping they are nice people."

She stopped before a metal gate and peered between the gaps of it. It looked like a huge campus with buildings like Pendle Inn, just much taller and wider in breadth. A school? But it would be weird to have it here. She hummed thoughtfully.

"Hello?" She called. The grounds looked unusually deserted and she glanced around her. No, there was only one hope here and she would have to bet on it. "Hello?" She tried again. Her voice echoed out painfully loud in the quiet setting and she shivered, cold as the rain started to pelt down on her. It was probably laughing at her. She sniffed.

"Please, can someone just give me some directions?"

She lifted her hand to knock on the gate but halted. Something was wrong with this gate. She moved a little closer and pressed her ear to it - it was humming. Oh, my god, she took a step back. Taking the first small rock she saw, she threw. It hit against the gate with a cackle and bounded back to her feet, making her stumble back frantically. It had electricity! She was so close to getting fried to death!

"Oh, God," she muttered, moving away from the gates and slumping against the brick wall by the side. It had a short breadth; probably only about twelve or thirteen inches long. There was a closed white box at the corner where the brick wall ended and connected to more - probably electrified - metal fence. She could hear a faint humming if she listened closely. What exactly was this place? She stared at the white box for a moment longer, then gave in. She squatted down, and careful not to touch the fence, she opened the box to find a numbered keypad.

"A password," she said to herself.

The humming suddenly stopped. She looked up and cocked her head to the side, straining her ears. There didn't seem to be any more humming - so did that mean the gate wasn't electrified any longer? But why?

She bent down and picked up a small pebble, then threw it against the gate. It flew cleanly through the other side. "Let's hope I can trust you, Mr. Pebble."

She gulped and slowly reached for the metal gate. Cringing, she looked away as she pressed her hand against the metal. It was cold and chilled but no, there wasn't any voltage. She pushed. Her eyes widened and her gut lurched forward with her as she nearly fell into the empty area. She certainly wasn't expecting the gate to be unlocked, but with high voltage running through it, she supposed there was no reason for them to.

Amazed, she took another step towards the looming brown building.

"What are you doing here?" was followed by an almost-muted but steady, quick footsteps approaching her. Shocked, she quickly whirled around. A boy, probably around her age, with raven black hair and clad in complete black was standing a few feet away from her. He looked handsome - even beautiful - despite the scowl present on his face.

"Why are you here?"

Mai stared at him, a little too shocked by his sudden appearance. "Um, I - I got lost and - "

"This isn't a place you can get lost and find," he snapped, obviously annoyed. "Get out of here."

"Um, excuse me?"

He was taking big strides towards her, and she could make out the colour of his eyes now: they were an exotic shade of grey. However, the angry narrowing of his eyes was making his dislike blatant. Damn, if he thought he could scare her away like this, he was dead wrong. She was going to get her directions and she would. Stubbornly, she stayed her place and met his eyes straight on. _No, Pretty Boy, I won't be intimidated by you._

"Get lost," he said, now only five feet away from her. "_Now_." His voice was tight, controlled, but his eyes betrayed him with their intensity.

"I just need some directions," she tried again, suppressing her own temper down within her, not understanding why he was being so hostile. "I - "

"Get out of here before you can't," he hissed, not moving from his spot. She bristled at his angry attitude; he really did need some lessons on manners. As she opened her mouth, ready to retort, he jabbed his thumb to the gate. "It's going back on in fifteen seconds."

_Trust him. _Her instincts seemed to tell her. And so, despite her growing annoyance at him, she shot him a glare and broke into a run for the gate. As her fingers reached to pull the gate open, a hand clasped around her wrist and pulled her back roughly. Taken off-guard by the sudden tug, she stumbled back and almost fell on her ass - she would have if not for the strong clasp around her wrist. She glared up at Pretty Boy, now thoroughly pissed.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" She shouted irately, pulling her hand away from his now loosened grip, her frustration and anger now spilling over. "Didn't you tell me to get out? Don't pull me back, you jerk! And _wha__t_ are you wearing? Complete black? Wearing all black doesn't make you cool!" Her chest was heaving by the time she was done, and she turned back to the gate, now unwilling to ask for his help.

The humming.

_Oh, shit._

* * *

**A/N: Finally, the character appears! Do drop me a review to tell me your thoughts!**

**May Dream!Naru or Gene visit your dreams tonight.**

**-mysticflakes**


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